


The Promise

by Sue Corkill (mscorkill)



Category: Stargate SG-1
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2012-05-20
Updated: 2012-05-20
Packaged: 2017-11-05 17:36:15
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,306
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/409162
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/mscorkill/pseuds/Sue%20Corkill
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Jonas asks Sam for help with Earth dating customs.</p>
            </blockquote>





	The Promise

**Author's Note:**

> So, I had to make my own Valentine's Day Fic Challenge. The fic has to include: pipe cleaner hearts, chopsticks, crab rangoon, Jonas and a Sam & Jack kiss. Enjoy!
> 
> Originally posted February 2005.

THE PROMISE

"You promised." It wasn't a whine, it wasn't even a plea, it was simply a statement of fact.

"I know." Sam glanced at the door to her lab, almost nervous that someone (as in the Colonel) would overhear, even though she knew **he** was nowhere around. She was hedging; she didn't have any good reason to not follow through on her promise to Jonas. After all, she had told him she'd help him. 

It was just that ever since their experiences with Nirti's genetic engineering machine, she had sensed a change in the Colonel's attitude. He seemed more attentive, his casual flirting taking on a tender, affectionate tone. And sometimes when he looked at her? Things were different and she just wanted to be available...in case. _Yeah, right,_ she scolded herself, _like he would actually ask her out on a date or anything._

"The fourteenth is next weekend," Jonas reminded her. His voice was calm but she recognized the look of incipient male hysteria in eyes. 

Shaking off her wayward thoughts of a real date with the Colonel, she finally answered. "You're right, I'm sorry, Jonas. Tomorrow night?"

Jonas nodded eagerly. "I'll make the reservations for 1930."

"Okay, I'll pick you up at the main gate at 1900, that should give us plenty of time to get there."

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Sam glanced at her watch, more time had slipped away than she'd realized and it was way past time to leave. She'd barely have enough time to get home and change and then swing back and get Jonas. Saving her data, she closed the program and started shutting down the laptop. Thank goodness she didn't need to wash her hair or anything, it would give her more time to get ready for their 'date'. Not that it was a real date, but she was still going to treat it like one. She smiled to herself, she couldn't fault Jonas for wanting to make a good impression on his Valentine's Day date with Lieutenant Rush. So, if letting him get in a practice 'Earth' date with her would help, she'd do—after all, he had finally asked the woman out without any help from her. 

Putting the power cord in a desk drawer, Sam had just snapped the laptop closed when she heard footsteps and the Colonel strolled into her lab. As always, her heart started beating faster at just the sight of him. He had changed into his street clothes, looking casual and relaxed in khakis and his brown leather jacket.

"Getting ready to head out?" he asked.

"Yeah, in a minute or two."

He rocked back on his heels and she sensed something more beneath his casual stance. 

"Did you want something, sir?"

"Ah...I thought maybe you might like to go get something to eat."

Her heart plummeted and she felt all the blood rush from her face. She was totally stunned. There was nothing she wanted more in this life than to go out to dinner with him and she actually opened her mouth to accept when she remembered. "I...I can't, sir. Not tonight, I'm sorry."

His expression never changed but she sensed his immediate withdrawal. "Not a problem, Carter." He was already turning to leave. "It was just a thought."

"Maybe some other night?" But she ended up asking her question to her empty lab, as he was already gone.

 _Damn, damn and double damn,_ she thought tiredly. Why did he have to ask her today, the one day she couldn't go?

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

 _Well, that had been one of his less than stellar moments,_ Jack thought disgustedly, tossing back the shot and then taking a large swallow of his beer. She couldn’t have made her disinterest more obvious. Which probably wasn't fair, his more reasonable side reminded him, he **had** asked her at the last minute. _Yeah, but it's Carter_ , he argued with himself, _Carter who has no life._ Yeah well, apparently she'd gone and gotten one. Probably while he'd been stuck on that damn moon with Maybourne.

So after indulging in a long run to work off his frustration, which had been less than successful, he'd decided to go ahead and go out to dinner like he'd planned. Which was why he was sitting in a corner booth in the back of O'Malley's, nursing his beer and his bad mood. Even the normally flirty waitress was leaving him alone, merely dropping off his steak with a polite nod.

He chewed morosely on a mouthful of the prime rib, barely tasting the excellent beef. It had honestly not occurred to him that she would say no. It was just dinner, for crying out loud, not a fishing trip. And after being marooned for a month and then almost losing her to that bitch Nirti, he'd finally decided to hell with the regulations; it was way past time that they did something about their feelings. And he had really thought she felt the same way.

Jack had just signaled the waitress to bring him another beer when a flash of movement and a glimpse of blonde hair caught his eye. Across the crowded and somewhat dark restaurant, he would almost swear that Carter had walked in on the arm of a very familiar looking man. 

It couldn't be...but it was. He sucked in his breath at the pain that shot straight through his heart. The tall, leggy blond in the short denim skirt and jean jacket was his major. And she was with Jonas. Son of a bitch. The reason she'd said no to him was because she had a date with Jonas. The pain he felt was worse than any of the torture he'd suffered under Ba'al. Jack slumped into the shadows of his booth and watched them walk across the restaurant together. 

They were both smiling, looking happy; Jonas' hand rested comfortably at the small of her back as they followed the hostess through the maze of tables. Jack noted sourly that they were seated at a cozy table for two, in a semi-secluded corner, right by the window. Jonas was the ever-attentive escort, helping her out of her jacket, holding out her chair for her. And she was radiant, smiling and encouraging him.

Jack's hands tightened into fists and he fought down the blind jealousy that threatened to consume him. He wanted nothing more than to fly across the room and smash his fist into Jonas' smiling face and then drag Sam out of there by her hair. But damn it, he had no right. She could go out with whomever she wanted, even if it would slowly kill him, eating away at his very soul. 

He tried to ignore them, but he was able to pick out her laugh through all the other noise in the restaurant, his eyes helplessly drawn to them. The knife in his gut was driven deeper and deeper into his heart by her smiling face, the way her hand rested on Jonas' briefly as she talked. The affection between the two of them was almost tangible. Jack pushed his half-eaten steak away, his appetite gone. Tossing a couple of twenties on the table, Jack grabbed his jacket and left—careful to keep to the shadows and escape unnoticed by the happy couple.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

For the third time in less than five minutes O'Neill fell for the same feint and Teal'c clipped him soundly with a left hook—once more knocking his padded and helmeted friend to the mat. Teal'c held out his hand to the fallen man. "You appear preoccupied, O'Neill." To his credit, he bounded back up and Teal'c felt a surge of pride in his friend. He turned in a slow circle, watching as O'Neill once more bobbed and danced around him. 

"Didn't sleep well last night."

Teal'c deftly avoided a quick right jab to the chest and countered with an easy punch to O'Neill's left shoulder. The other man bounced back a step or two, but was quickly circling around him again. "That is not like you." Teal'c scoured his memory for the usual reasons humans did not sleep, finally finding an appropriate response. "Did something you eat not agree with you?"

"You might say that." O'Neill swung with the same right jab again. 

Teal'c stepped quickly to the side, avoiding the attempted punch and caught his friend with a fourth repeat of the side-step, turn and left hook. O'Neill went down with a resounding thud. When he didn't get up right away, Teal'c squatted down next to him. "Are you injured?"

Jack rubbed his jaw and shook his head, holding out one gloved hand to him. Teal'c undid the laces on the glove and tugged it off. Jack undid the helmet next, taking it off and letting it drop to the mat next to him. "Nah. He rubbed his jaw and then added, "Maybe we should quit."

Teal'c pondered his next step carefully, he knew O'Neill had something on his mind. He wished to be as good a friend to O'Neill as the other man had been to him on more than one occasion, however, this type of discussion was something his friend normally avoided. However, both Doctor Phil and Oprah encouraged sharing between friends, to strengthen the bond of friendship. 

"What is bothering you, O'Neill?" Teal'c stood and again offered O'Neill a hand up.

"You want to know what's bothering me, Teal'c?" 

Teal'c inclined his head and didn't bother to state the obvious, that he wouldn't have asked if he didn't want to know.

O'Neill stripped of his other glove and stuffed them into his helmet. "All right, I'll tell you. I saw Jonas and Carter last night."

Teal'c was perplexed. "You see Jonas Quinn and Major Carter every day."

"I saw them at O'Malley's. Together."

Teal'c was still at a loss as to the significance of this and raised an eyebrow in inquiry.

"On a date."

Ah...now he understood, though he was still confused. "I was not aware that Major Carter and Jonas Quinn were involved in a romantic relationship."

A look of pain crossed O'Neill's face. "Yeah well, neither was I."

Teal'c was no stranger to the emotion of jealousy and he recognized the bitter sound of it in his friend's voice. That Major Carter and O'Neill had feelings for each other **and** a complicated relationship was not a secret—at least to him. However he did not believe that Major Carter was so insensitive of O'Neill's feelings that she would deliberately pursue a relationship with Jonas Quinn. And besides...he was sure Jonas Quinn's interests lay elsewhere.

"Things are not always as they appear," was all he said.

O'Neill snorted and picked up a towel, wiping the sweat off his forehead. "They appear to be...damn it, Teal'c! They appear to be Jonas and Carter! On a fucking date!"

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Sam stirred her soup, listening to Jonas' idle chatter and dragging out lunch as long as possible. She knew the Colonel and Teal'c should have been finished with their usual morning workout not too long ago and would walk into the dining room any minute. Bingo. There was Teal'c...by himself. 

"So, what time do you think I should make the reservations for?" 

Sam frowned and followed his solitary progress through the cafeteria line, wondering why the Colonel wasn't with him. 

"Sam?"

"Oh, I'm sorry." She turned her attention back to her dining companion. "Eight o'clock, I think. Not too early, but not too late. Gives her plenty of time to get ready."

Jonas nodded. "She does have to work that day."

Teal'c arrived at their table and set down his loaded tray. Sam moved her bowl of soup a little bit closer. 

"Teal'c." Jonas greeted him.

"On your own today?" she commented, striving for casual.

Teal'c sat down and reached for the salt shaker, immediately covering the entire contents of his tray with a healthy sprinkle of salt. "O'Neill is feeling indisposed."

"He isn't hurt, is he?" Sam asked, fighting down the flutter of panic that filled her at the thought of him being hurt.

"No, he is not hurt." Teal'c began wolfing down huge bites from one of the three slices of meat loaf on his plate.

"Then how is he indisposed?" Jonas queried.

"O'Neill believes that the two of you are involved in a romantic relationship."

"What?"

"What?" 

Sam and Jonas spoke almost simultaneously, several curious pairs of eyes looking their way from the surrounding tables. She quickly lowered her voice and asked urgently. "The Colonel thinks Jonas and I are dating?"

"Why would he think that, Teal'c?" 

"He observed you and Major Carter eating dinner at O'Malley's last night. He referred to it as a 'date'."

"Oh god...." Sam pushed her soup away, her appetite gone and a sick feeling mixing with the soup now curdling in her stomach. He had seen them, after she had turned down his dinner invitation--and she and Jonas had, for all intents and purposes, been on a 'date'.

"What did you tell him?"

"I told him I was not aware that you were involved in a relationship." Teal'c looked pointedly at Jonas then. "I thought you were courting Lieutenant Rush?"

"I am, I mean...that's why I was out with Sam last night. She promised to help me so that when I do go out with Bonnie...." Jonas let his voice trail off and gave her a helpless look. Sam just shook her head and gave him a less-than-reassuring smile.

Teal'c nodded and began spooning mashed potatoes into his mouth. "I do not believe O'Neill is aware of your interest in Lieutenant Rush."

Jonas stood up and grabbed his tray. "I better go tell him."

"I do not believe that would be wise, Jonas Quinn."

"He's right, Jonas." Sam placed her hand over his and he sat back down. "This is something I need to take care of."

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Right, she'd take care of it, famous last words. Sam sighed, dropping the small screwdriver with which she'd been probing the alien device. She pushed away from her workbench and frowned at the stubborn...whatever it was. It had been nearly a week since she'd told Jonas she'd talk to the Colonel and she had yet to manage it. First there had been the unexpected trip to Area 51 to consult with Doctor Murphy, which had lasted for three days—two days longer than she'd been expecting. 

When she'd gotten back to the SGC, it was only to discover that the rest of her team had been sent on a short, overnight reconnaissance mission—without her. She'd missed them by thirty minutes. They were due back late this afternoon, but as her luck would have it, she was scheduled to lecture from 1600-1930 at the Academy. And then it was the weekend and she knew that while it was her habit to hang out in her lab and lurk around the base on her days off, it wasn't the Colonel's. Which meant it would be Monday before she saw him again.

It just left a hollow feeling in her stomach every time she thought about him seeing her and Jonas together. She was scared that the nebulous connection she'd sensed starting to develop between them was gone. The longer they were apart and the longer he believed she was involved with Jonas, the more despondent she became. God, it wasn't like they didn't already have enough obstacles to overcome without this too. Shoving the alien device back into its box, she closed up her lab. Shit, she wasn't getting anywhere moping around here, she might as well go to the Academy and get ready for her lecture. 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

He'd done every miserable Saturday chore he could think of, including changing the oil on his truck—himself. There weren't any decent sports on TV to watch, unless you counted college basketball, and with the walls closing in on him, he'd taken the truck to the local self-serve car wash. Even though the temperature was above freezing, there was only one other solitary man there, so after a perfunctory nod, Jack had concentrated on scrubbing the truck to within an inch of its life. But all the mind-numbing physical labor hadn't worked; he still knew all too well what day it was and what was going to happen today. Fuck, Jonas had been giddy the entire time they'd been on P2X-958. 

Well, not overtly giddy—at least not directly with him. Jack rubbed a little harder than necessary with his chamois. He'd overheard T and Jonas talking late at night, when he was supposedly sleeping. Big Valentine's date, Jonas wanted everything to be perfect. Jack had actually found himself wishing that their mission would get delayed for any reason—up to and including anything from natural disaster to pissed-off System Lord, just so they wouldn't make it back to Earth until after the 'big date'. If he'd been a bit more sarcastic and grumpy than usual, his two teammates had merely accepted his bad mood and for the most part left him alone. 

It was just as well that Sam's trip to Area 51 had prevented her from going on the mission with them, he wasn't sure what he would have done if the two of them had been together, making goo-goo eyes at each other over the campfire. It was bad enough when Jonas was mooning around, but to have them together? Of course, Jack thought bitterly, that didn't mean it wouldn't happen in the future. He would have been better off stuck on that moon with Maybourne than be forced to watch Sam and Jonas find happiness together. A happiness that he desperately craved. 

Giving the front bumper a final swipe with the cloth, Jack threw his cleaning rags into the back of the truck. It was dark, the streetlights had just winked on and he had skipped lunch. He'd stop at the Chinese take-out on Columbine and get some dinner. Maybe some Mu Shu Pork, Mongolian Beef and a couple of Kirin would improve his mood.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Sam pulled her Volvo into the mostly empty parking lot. It wasn't quite 1730 and besides, this little hole in the wall Chinese place wasn't exactly one of the top ten places to take your date on Valentine's Day, even if their food was the best in town. Grabbing her purse, she pulled her jacket a little tighter, it had definitely been warmer when she'd left for the base earlier that day. And of course, it was a temperate seventy degrees twenty-five stories below ground. 

The only other people in the restaurant were a teen-age couple, sitting in one of the booths by the window. Sam spared them a brief glance—young love, she thought almost enviously, their heads were bent close together, hands clasped on the table—before going to place her order. She smiled at the young Asian woman behind the counter, recognizing her from previous visits. Sam didn't need a menu, she always ordered the same thing—shrimp fried rice and a small order of crab rangoon. 

Sam had just finished paying for her order when she heard the tinkle of the bell above the door and felt the waft of cold air. She stepped aside, putting her wallet away and when she looked up, she gasped. "Sir," she stammered, trying hard to cover her confusion at seeing him so unexpectedly.

"Carter." He looked equally surprised to see her. His eyes traveled around the entire restaurant as if looking for someone else before once more resting on her. "Didn't expect to see you here," he said coolly.

"Oh, I stop here quite often." She summoned up her brightest smile for him. "They have the best crab rangoon."

He nodded, but he didn't smile. "Yeah, but tonight?" Jack grabbed a menu and looked at it briefly before tossing it back on the counter. 

"Why not tonight?"

He placed his order—Mu Shu Pork, Mongolian Beef **and** crab rangoon—and then leaned against the counter. "I thought you had a date?"

Her brow wrinkled. He thought she had a date? And then everything from the past week fell into place and she smiled gently. "No, no date."

It was his turn to frown. "It is Valentine's Day, isn't it?"

"Yes," she nodded.

"You're supposed to be on a date with Jonas tonight."

"Jonas is on a date with Lieutenant Bonnie Rush." 

Any other time she would have laughed at the look on his face. But not this time, this time there was too much at stake. "Oh," was all he managed to mumble.

"Lady. Mister." The smiling Asian woman handed them each two large, white paper bags.

Jack took the bag indicated and stood there for a moment, just staring at her. Deciding to take a huge chance, Sam placed a gentle hand on his arm and asked, "Join me for dinner?"

His dark eyes held hers for several long moments and then he slowly nodded. "Sure."

She picked up her bag and started toward the door. "You know where I live."

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Jack felt totally out of his league—an unusual feeling for him—and had been ever since he'd followed Sam to her house. He struck what he hoped was a casual pose against the fireplace and tried to keep out of her way while she bustled between the kitchen and the living room.

"Jack?" 

He started when he heard his name on her lips, still trying to process the rapidly shifting parameters of their relationship. He liked it...he liked it a lot, but it still sounded...odd. 

"Will you make a fire?"

Fire, he could do fire. There was a basket of logs by the fireplace and matches on the mantel. Kneeling down, he quickly built up a tidy fire, adding logs in a pattern guaranteed to burn a long time. Finishing with the fire, he wandered briefly about the living room before finally sitting on the sofa.

"Here," she said, handing him a beer.

"Thanks." He took a big swallow, glad to finally have something else to occupy his hands.

She returned a few moments later with several plates, silverware—along with the chopsticks that came with their meal—and napkins, setting them all on the coffee table. The food came next, still in the take-out containers but all arranged on a tray. And then a couple bottles of water and another one of the Kirin he'd bought on his way to the restaurant, he noted. 

She sat down on the opposite side of the sofa and he tentatively reached for a plate when she said, "Oh, wait," and jumped up again. He did as requested and she returned less than a minute later with a small basket full of red and white flowers, several pipe cleaner hearts peeking out of the festive bouquet.

"Flowers?" he asked, insanely curious.

She sat back down and smiled at him, handing him a plate and then taking one for her. "From my sister-in-law. She and Mark were married on Valentine's Day and she always sends me flowers." She shook her head, her smile somewhat self-conscious. "It's just a silly thing she does."

Jack dumped half of the pork and beef onto his plate, along with some steamed rice, and started eating. Sam did the same with her rice—and some of his beef, he noted, absurdly pleased. The quiet sounds of two people eating filled the room, punctuated by the occasional crackle and hiss from the fireplace. 

Jack tried one of the crab rangoon, the cream cheese and crab filling literally melting in his mouth. "You're right," he practically drooled. "These are great!"

"Told you." She smiled and held out another one to him. 

He leaned forward and took a bite out of the morsel she offered him, grabbing her hand and then slowly releasing it—but keeping hold of the crab rangoon. She smiled, somewhat shyly, he thought, and popped the rest of the morsel into his mouth. He set his plate down and picked up his beer, leaning back against the sofa cushions. "So...Jonas is out with Rush tonight?"

"Yeah." She leaned back against the cushions as well, their shoulders almost touching. "We went out to dinner one night, just so he could see what an Earth date would be like."

"Did you now?"

She turned her head and gave him **the** look. "You saw us," she replied mildly.

"I did," he admitted.

"You should have said something."

"I know," he muttered. "But..."

"....it's complicated?" she finished for him, sounding...disappointed, somehow. She took a swallow of her beer. "I wanted to accept your dinner invitation. But I had promised Jonas." She turned her head and looked at him.

"And you couldn't break that promise?"

"No."

Jack nodded, he did understand. She wouldn't break a promise like that, it was one of the many reasons he loved her. He didn't move, he didn't even twitch a muscle, but he felt like his world had just turned upside down. He loved her? 

"Want another beer?"

He doubted he could have formed an intelligible word, so he simply handed her his empty bottle and watched the gentle sway of her hips as she walked out of the room. Well, he'd be damned, he loved her. How had he missed that? That he liked her, lusted after her, felt incomplete without her, he had long accepted. So yeah, that he loved her didn't seem like such a long stretch. It also went a long way towards explaining his jealousy at seeing her and Jonas together and his foul mood ever since then. And to think he realized it on Valentine's Day.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

"So, that's it then?" Sam handed him the beer and he looked up at her. She recognized that look, it was his 'befuddled' one. The one that meant he really hadn't been paying attention to anything she'd been saying, or trying to say. 

"Yeah, I guess," he replied slowly.

And his weak agreement was confirmation of that. She didn't know why she was disappointed in him, she had obviously mistaken his recent behavior as meaning something significant. "We go back to the way it's always been?" She was pushing him, but she wanted an answer.

"If that's what you want." 

"If that's what **I** want?" God, but he could be infuriating and suddenly she was pissed and tired and fed up with him and the whole thing. "You're the one who invited me to dinner and then behaved like a jealous jerk when you thought I'd gone out with Jonas instead of accepting your invitation!"

His eyes narrowed and he sat up straighter. "What **do** you want, Sam?"

"You," she said bluntly, driven by her anger and fear of losing him, after all. "You're all I've ever wanted."

"And you've just now realized this?"

"No," she admitted. "We've both known it for a long time, haven't we?" she challenged.

"Oh," he replied, setting his beer down and standing up. She felt herself unconsciously back up a step, the determined look on his face unnerving. "I've known that I've wanted you for a long time," he drawled, taking a step toward her and closing the gap between them. "But it's only been in the last five minutes that I realized that I love you."

It was so unfair that he could totally disarm her with that one simple statement. She wanted to stay tough and strong, but he was looking at her with an emotion she'd never thought she'd see in those dark brown eyes and she melted. "You do?"

"Mmmhmm," he murmured. His hands settled on her waist and pulled her close. She clutched at his shoulders, both for support and the sheer pleasure of finally having the freedom to touch him. 

"And on Valentine's Day, too." 

"Handy coincidence, don't you think?"

She laughed from sheer joy. "Very."

"So..."

"So?"

"What now?"

So, he was leaving the next step up to her. His consideration touched her, given that she could feel the evidence of his arousal pressing against her belly. They'd spent six years taking it slow, she figured that was long enough. "We celebrate."

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

It was convenient, he decided, that he already knew where her bedroom was, it made carrying her there so much easier. Tossing her gently onto the bed, he followed her down, covering her wriggling body with his own. They kissed, their hands pulling and tugging at each other's clothing until they were both naked. 

The sex was better than he had ever imagined, to touch her, kiss her, to slide into her willing body. And maybe that's because it was more than sex. But then Sam moaned his name and tightened her legs around him and he really couldn't think of anything else except how great she felt under him and around him. It was only with sheer determination that he was able to hang on long enough to ensure that Sam was sobbing his name in release before following her into ecstasy.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ 

Oh god, he couldn't move, even though she was making random movements to dislodge him. "Can't breathe," she mumbled. That got through to him, couldn't let her die because she couldn't breathe. Though he was sure she had definitely killed him with her 'celebrating'. He shifted a bit and she huffed a sigh of relief; he moved a bit more, but her arms closed around him and he took that as a sign that she was okay with where he was now. Which was perfectly all right with him, naked Carter breasts made a fine pillow indeed.

Now that the blood wasn't pounding through his head—and other parts of his body, he could think a bit more clearly. "Did you say what I thought you said?" he asked, nuzzling a near-by nipple, just because he could. 

"Hmmm?" she murmured, her fingers stroking through the sweaty hair at his nape.

"You know." He wasn't above begging, but he also wasn't going to repeat it for her.

"Oh, that," she had the nerve to reply and then she giggled.

"Yes, that." When she tugged on his hair, he lifted his head and glared at her.

"I love you." 

Okay, that was better. "Good," he muttered, lowering his head and kissing her until they were both once more breathing heavily. With a final sweep of his tongue, he broke the kiss and flopped onto his back next to her. She immediately curled up next to him, her head a welcome weight on his shoulder, her fingers idly stroking his chest.

He felt remarkably content with Sam all nestled up, soft and warm, next to him. In fact, he felt so good he could afford to be a bit magnanimous. "I wonder how Jonas and Rush are doing on their date?"

"What time is it?"

He craned his head to see the clock on the bedside table. "2030," he told her.

"Probably just getting their appetizers."

"And here we've already had dessert." 

She stifled a snort of laughter against his chest and then added, "Well, I do know for a fact that Rush was added to the list of personnel that are allowed to keep Jonas off-base overnight."

It was his turn to laugh. "Was that another part of your promise?" 

"More or less," she agreed. 

"And you always keep your promises, right?" He kept his tone light, but there was a definite undercurrent to his question. And she must've sensed it, because she raised her head and gazed down at him with serious eyes. 

"Always."

He reached up and caressed her cheek. "Then promise me we'll always celebrate Valentine's Day this way."

She cradled his hand with one of hers and placed a kiss on his palm. "I promise."

THE END


End file.
